The three agents rushed to the side of Mossad officer Ziva David. Marcus Johansson was lying on the ground next to Ziva's chair in a pool of his own blood. Ziva seemed to be unconscious though they had been told that she was an expert at hiding her true state.
"Ziva David? Can you hear me? My name is Agent Gibbs. If you can hear me Miss David, please squeeze my hand," said Gibbs. There was a note of desperation in his voice.
A sudden, although small, tug on his hand caught Gibbs' attention. He looked up to see the young woman in front of him trying to sit up. She wasn't succeeding. Gibbs gently lifted Ziva into a sitting position.
"Miss David, can you hear me?"
"Help me," whispered Ziva.
Gibbs' heart broke as he heard Ziva's feeble attempt at speaking. He called Tony over and then moved away.
"Hi Ziva, I'm Tony. I'm going to help you get up and then we can leave. Did you kill him?" asked Tony. He sounded curious.
"I did not mean too. I just did not want to be hurt anymore," whispered Ziva.
"You're not in trouble Ziva. He was a bad guy. What did he do to you?"
Ziva looked at Tony and closed her eyes. This man was a stranger and Ziva didn't show her emotions in front of everyone. But Ziva felt like she was safe with him. He seemed to genuinely care about her well-being. Ziva opened her eyes and reached for Tony's hand. She took it as a good sign when he didn't pull away.
Tony looked down at the tiny hand that was grasping his and he realised that what he was feeling was not only pity but sadness. The young woman in front of him was trying to hold back her emotions but he could tell that she wasn't succeeding.
"Ziva, you don't have to hide your feelings from me. It's okay to be scared. We all get scared at some point."
Ziva gave Tony a weak smile before she tried to stand up. After a minute, Ziva's legs gave way and she toppled to the floor, tears pouring from her eyes. Tony bent down and whispered into Ziva's ear. She looked up and gave Tony a watery smile. She allowed Tony to help her up and lead her towards the door.
"DiNozzo, be careful out there. We don't know if there are anymore of them out there. I don't want her hurt anymore. Ducky's waiting in the embassy for us. Go straight there, don't make any stops, and hide if anybody comes by," said Gibbs.
Tony nodded and helped Ziva put her arm around his shoulders. Together, they walked out of the cell door and into a long hallway full of the terrorists that Gibbs had shot on the way in.
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